World Malaria Day Marked At Global Stage

    An image of a mosquito biting and              feeding on human blood

By Bernadette Idalu
Though there were no visible signs of posters or even set activities lined up at some medical facilities visited today to show how they celebrated the "World Malaria day" in Edo State, it was nonetheless celebrated at the world stage with the theme, “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world.”

Speaking a day ahead of the main event which held today, April 25, 2024, through a release, Saima Wazed, World Health Organization, WHO, Regional Director for South-East Asia, stated, we unite under the theme, "Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world."

He said the theme, is in sync with this year’s World Health Day theme, “My Health, My Right’, as this underscores the urgent need to address the stark inequities that persist in the access to malaria prevention, detection, and treatment services.

In recent years, global efforts to reduce malaria have stagnated, posing a significant threat to public health and exacerbating inequalities within communities. Everyone has the right to quality, timely, and affordable malaria services, yet this remains elusive for many, perpetuating a cycle of inequity that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable among us, he avowed.

Going further he maintained that infants and young children, especially those under five, are particularly affected, with disparities in access to education and financial resources compounding their risk.

Pregnant women, he revealed, also face heightened risks, as pregnancy reduces immunity to malaria, making them more susceptible to infection and severe disease. Gender inequalities, discrimination, and harmful gender norms further increase their vulnerability. Without timely and appropriate intervention, malaria in pregnancy can have devastating consequences, including severe anaemia, maternal death, stillbirth, premature delivery, and low-birth-weight babies.

He noted that malaria remains a significant public health challenge despite several countries being on track to meet the Global Technical Strategy (GTS) targets. 

On this occasion, he posited that WHO called for renewed attention to the barriers to health equity, gender equality, and human rights in malaria responses, with redoubled efforts to overcome these challenges to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location, have access to life-saving malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services.

There was also a call on people to commit to accelerating the fight against malaria, forging partnerships, and implementing evidence-based strategies to achieve a more equitable world where no one is left behind in the quest to end malaria for good.

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